Al Franken reveals the alarming story of how Bush (barely) beat Kerry with his campaign of "fear, smear, and queers", and then claimed a nonexistent mandate; Republicans decided that Terri Schiavo would make "a great political issue"; Conservatives sought to undermine Social Security by using a strategy borrowed from...Vladimir Lenin; and more.

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

Finding logical inconsistencies, factual errors, and doublespeak wherever he looks, Al Franken takes on and destroys the myth of liberal bias in the media, hoists the Bush White House on its own rhetorical petard, and punctures the mean-spirited sanctimony of such media darlings as Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly. Timely, provocative, unfailingly honest, and always uproarious, Lies is sure to raise hackles and spark hilarity inside the Beltway and from sea to shining sea.

An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal's Eight-Year Odyssey into the Heart of the Right-Wing Media

The "Fox Mole" delivers a funny, opinionated memoir of his eight years at the unfair, unbalanced Fox News Channel. An Atheist in the FOXhole has everything that liberals and Fox haters could desire: details about how Fox’s right-wing ideology is promoted throughout the channel; why specific angles and personalities are the only ones broadcasted; the bizarre stories Fox anchors actually believed (and passed on to the public); and tales of behind-the-scenes mayhem and mistakes, all part of reporting Fox’s version of the news.

Oh, the Things I Know! A Guide to Success, or, Failing That, Happiness

What does a megasuccess like Al Franken - best selling author, Emmy-award winning television star, and honorary Ph.D. - have to say to ordinary people like you? Well, as Dr. Al himself says, "There's no point in getting advice from hopeless failures." Filled with wisdom, observations, and practical tips you can put to work right away, this is a cradle-to-grave guide to living, an easy-to-follow user's manual for human existence.

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America

Conventional wisdom holds that America has been a Christian nation since the Founding Fathers. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the idea of "Christian America" is nothing more than a myth - and a relatively recent one at that.

Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free

The culture wars are over and the idiots have won. This is a veteran journalist’s caustically funny, righteously angry lament about the glorification of ignorance in the United States. The three Great Premises of Idiot America: · Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units; anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough; "fact" is that which enough people believe. And "truth" is determined by how fervently they believe it.

The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science - and Reality

Best-selling author Chris Mooney uses cutting-edge research to explain the psychology behind why today’s Republicans reject reality - it’s just part of who they are. From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy, and much more. Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts?

The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How it Corrupts Democracy

Former right-wing journalist David Brock uses his keen understanding and experience to show how a conservative media has skewed American politics noticeably to the right. Brock's incisive analysis of right-wing media theories, strategies, financing, and operations makes for a convincing argument that the Republican Right does not embrace or encourage journalistic freedom, but instead seeks to control it.

You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You!

From Stuart Smalley come calming visualizations that will take you to a safe and healing place...except for a few wrong turns along the way. Al Franken brought Stuart Smalley to prominence on Saturday Night Live, and although Stuart's not perfect (and that's okay), he offers a healing journey through the Dysfunctional Forest and other guided visualizations.

The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News - and Divided a Country

When Rupert Murdoch enlisted Roger Ailes to launch a cable news network in 1996, American politics and media changed forever. Now, with a remarkable level of detail and insight, New York magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman brings Ailes’s unique genius to life, along with the outsize personalities - Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee, and others - who have helped Fox News play a defining role in the great social and political controversies of the past two decades.

The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted

There was a time, not so very long ago, when perfectly rational people ran the Republican Party. So how did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? That is what this book aims to answer. Fear not, the Dems come in for their share of tough talk - they are zombies, a party of the living dead. Mike Lofgren came to Washington in the early eighties - those halcyon, post-Nixonian glory days - for what he imagined would be a short stint on Capitol Hill.

The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass

A follow-up to the New York Times best-selling New Rules, The New New Rules delivers a series of hilarious, intelligent rants on everything from same-sex marriage to health care, from Republican agendas to celebrity meltdowns, with all the razor-sharp insight that has made Bill Maher one of the most influential comedic voices shaping the political debate today.

Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party

The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all.

Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession

Let’s talk about secession. Not exactly the most suitable cocktail party conversation starter anywhere in the country, but take that notion deep into the heart of Dixie and you might find yourself running from the possum-hunting conservatives, trailer-park lifers, and prayer warriors Chuck Thompson encountered during the two years he spent traveling the American South asking the question: Would we be better off without ’em?

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule

In his previous book, Thomas Frank explained why working America votes for politicians who reserve their favors for the rich. Now, in The Wrecking Crew, Frank examines the Washington those politicians have given us, showing why, no matter what happens in November 2008, we're stuck with it for the foreseeable future.

Conservatives Without Conscience

John Dean's last New York Times best seller, Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, offered the former White House insider's unique and telling perspective on George W. Bush's presidency. Once again, Dean employs his distinctive knowledge and understanding of Washington politics and process to examine the conservative movement's current inner circle of radical Republican leaders, from Capitol Hill to Pennsylvania Avenue to K Street and beyond.

The Party's Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat

Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida, spent years in the party's inner circle. In this no-holds-barred memoir, he shows why he switched sides and became a Democrat. After serving as a Republican governor - one who was on the short list for the vice presidency in 2008 - Charlie Crist made headlines when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate as an Independent. He was on the front page again when he endorsed President Obama in 2012 and spoke at the Democratic National Convention - and yet again when he officially joined the Democratic Party later that year.

Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans

A new group of Americans is challenging the reign of the Religious Right. Today, nearly one in five Americans are nonbelievers - a rapidly growing group at a time when traditional Christian churches are dwindling in numbers - and they are flexing their muscles like never before. Yet we still see almost none of them openly serving in elected office, while Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and many others continue to loudly proclaim the myth of America as a Christian nation.

Attack of the Theocrats!: How the Religious Right Harms Us All - and What We Can Do About It

At no time in history has the United States had such a high percentage of theocratic members of Congress - those who expressly endorse religious bias in law. Just as ominously, especially for those who share the values and views of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, at no other time have religious fundamentalists effectively had veto power over one of the country's two major political parties. As Sean Faircloth argues in this deeply sobering yet highly engaging book, this has led to the crumbling of the country's most cherished founding principle - the wall of separation between church and state.

Publisher's Summary

Al Franken's landmark best seller, Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them...a Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, was praised as a "bitterly funny assault" (The New York Times) that sounded "with the moral clarity of an angel's trumpet" (Associated Press). Now, this master of political humor strikes again with a powerful and provocative message for all Americans. Al reveals the alarming story of how:

Bush (barely) beat Kerry with his campaign of "fear, smear, and queers", and then claimed a nonexistent mandate

Republicans decided that Terri Schiavo would make "a great political issue"

Conservatives sought to undermine Social Security by using a strategy borrowed from...Vladimir Lenin

Tom DeLay is just an absolute horror show

This is truly a book for everyone. If you were a Bush voter, Al wants to set aside partisan bitterness and talk about the better future Americans can build together for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. (Generations beyond that will have to fend for themselves.) But first, Al must show you how Republican leaders are, at this very moment, betraying your trust and quite possibly lighting a Cuban cigar with a burning American flag or a Bible.

If you're a liberal, this book is for you as well. Maybe even for you most of all. You will find evidence for what you already believe: that Al Franken is among America's finest prose stylists, and that the depravity of the Bush administration is only outmatched by the rot at the heart of the Republican Congress.

And finally, if you are a member of a future generation who has found this book in a pile of radioactive rubble, Al apologizes. Not because he didn't do his best to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons from rogue nations to non-state actors taking refuge in so-called "failed" states, but because his countrymen evidently failed to listen.

I love my Senator and I l think his work is amazing for it's painful truth. I am always a big fan of the author narrating his own works, and this is no exception - Al is a terrific author and truly passionate when he reads his work. The only problem is, the truth hurts! It can get a bit depressing after a while so you may want to listen to it in small parts. Like "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" the reality of the work can be depressing, so pace yourself. But don't let my word of caution fool you - this is a must-listen, for anyone wondering "what the heck happened during those years?"

I didn't realize I wanted to spend 8 hours listening to a dated retelling of the 2004 election, but apparently Audible thought I did. Thanks for the recommendation! It was great rehashing recent politics and hearing jokes about obscure political figures I'd forgotten about or perhaps had never heard in the first place. I stopped listening after about an hour.

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